It’s time for another post in our 2017 Canvas Corp Crew Interviews. We are extremely privileged to be able to work with a group of over a 100 of amazing designers from around the world. They have all come together to create, share ideas, support each other, let us know what we can do better and remind us of what we are doing well. Our Crew members contribute projects to our blog, design with our products on their blogs, create models for our trade shows, packaging and other fun little projects. We love to hear what they have to say, to be inspired by their work and to learn new things everyday.

Today, we get to know Lena Stain.

Where do you reside? City, State, CountryI live in Gavle, a city located about 1½ hour north of Stockholm (the capital of Sweden). Me and my husband live here with our cat in a terrace house with a small garden. On the top floor of our house is our Hobby Area – here we have several rooms dedicated to our hobbies, how great is that?

Describe your design style…The past 3 years it has been Mixed Media, before that I was in to Scrapbooking for about 10 years. People have said that I have a dark and quirky style. I love steampunk and using all types of metals. I am picking apart sewing machines, blow driers, telephones and using these wonderful interior parts on my projects. On the other hand, I also love beautiful flowers and lace – using a combination of these materials has become a bit of my signature style.
So I would say – Imaginative Mixed Media projects combining recycled metals, flowers and lace into industrial/steampunk style art pieces.

Who or what do you give credit to inspiring your creativity?I wanna say 3 things here:
Firstly – my life: It has been filled with happiness, sorrow, grief, growth, changes etc. I often find myself drawing inspiration from my own life. Secondly – movies: I am crazy about movies and often find myself getting inspiration from favorite movies. Thirdly – music: ever since I was a child, music has been of huge importance to me. Lyrics, titles or even how I feel when listening to certain type of music inspires me.

What inspires you today?Whatever metals and other stuff I have in my drawers plus the mists on my shelves.

What is your favorite Canvas Corp Brand Product? and why? Just one please!!!Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists, they are without hesitation the best mists on the market! If I had to choose only one color, it would be “Sugar Maple”.

We asked Lena to choose her favorite project she has created using CCB Products.

Why is it your favorite project?I love the colors and the Mixed Media Origins Wings. The black swan breaking free from its “safe place” and its chains (the barb wire) really appeals to the quirky side of me.

Do you teach and if so tell us a bit about what you teach, where you go and some of your favorite places?I have held a couple of classes for friends and co-workers. In the future, I hope to be able to teach more.

My favorite place to be creative…We have the top floor of our house dedicated to our hobbies. One room is shared with my husband. On his side, he works on building wood sailing ships (some examples are Flying Dutchman, Black Pearl and Le Solei Royale). Our room is usually a complete mess but I try to clean up my side of the room after finnishing every project. A clean fresh space really inspires me to start on the next project.

Tell us one cool detail about your studio or craft space…I am really happy about my work stations. I have one station where I assemble the projects, another where I paint and mist. The third station is my computer desk, this is where I do my blogging. I also have a separate room where one corner is dedicated for photo shoots.

Tell us one thing fun about you we might not know…Can you believe it, I only just got my driver’s licence? I did have a licence 20 years ago when I lived in the US but back home here in Sweden I just never got around to it – until a few weeks ago. I finally feel like an adult:-)

Share with us anything about your creative life that you feel would inspire others…Everything but the kitchen sink – we have all heard this one. For me, it is so true – I believe just about anything can be glued down on a canvas and colored beautifully – everything but the kitchen sink 🙂
I regularly go to flea markets, second hand stores or barn sales to find stuff to alter, pick apart or re-purpose.

Canvas Corp Brands is the home of Tattered Angels, 7Gypsies and Canvas Corp (Canvas Home Basics). We are a manufacturer of surfaces, paint and vintage reproductions coming to you from Springdale, Arkansas.

'Crew Interview – Lena Stain' have 2 comments

I love your job, and I think it’s my favorite style too. I like a lot what you do, it’s always very popular, and assembled with a beautiful piece … (like the wings on this project). your place where you create is great, enough to make a beautiful project. I’ll stay to follow you, hoping you’ll make videos you tube from time to time. In any case thank you for all the pleasure you bring me to look at your projects. Sincerely … 🙂 Tony